Halloween and Christmas

[zzyzx 2]

Oh, houses specificly made to give that sort of haunted atmosphere? Never heard of it, but that sounds like a pretty fun idea...
Reminds me when once I went to Portugal and I saw that house which had some fissured or broken windows with the darkness inside. It was night... It looked abandoned.

One of my favorites is an old mortuary that they make up for Halloween fun. The people that do it are called Evil Twin Studios, Making Nightmares Come True. It's so much fun that I will go there in a few days, as well as to other places as well. http://www.eviltwinstudios.com

Disneyland... that's an interesting initiative. You do that each year?

Yes. I will be going this year too. Many places are closed on Christmas, but luckily Disneyland is open!

[Samathou]

Too bad they close some places (well, understandable too as some workers would rather spend their time with their family instead of working...)

The Evil Twin Studios? Interesting.

[agent-FSS]

Hmm, true Frenchman? Really?
Has to tell that Orthodox Christians don't celebrate Halloween,
usually. It not our holiday. But in the cities start celebrate it even more often recently, I think it it is connected with big penetration of the American culture. Personally I about Halloween have only vague idea.

As to Christmas, owing to different calendars we celebrate it two weeks later, already after New Year.

[Samathou]

Well, yeah, I'm French.

Seems like orthodox Christians have a different notion of all these holidays (well, barely one of Halloween if I understand what you say...)

So you celebrate Christmas two weeks later...? May I ask if you have a specific tradition? ^^

[JamesPup]

I used to live in Connecticut and they had several haunted house places people could pay to go to. They were fun as a kid. I remember one was in the old Michael J Fox building in Hartford.

[triplemultiplex]

I have a traveling job so Halloween will probably just be another work day. Maybe drink a pumpkin spice beer after work.
I had a few good Halloweens in the past. Including one where I was dressed as Evil Spock and vomited at a house party.

[Samathou]

I used to live in Connecticut and they had several haunted house places people could pay to go to. They were fun as a kid. I remember one was in the old Michael J Fox building in Hartford.

Fake haunted houses or like some dilapidated ones... with a strange story behind?
Sounds like some interesting activities... Discovering the marks left by the past... and if not, at least having a funny Halloween atmosphere.

I have a traveling job so Halloween will probably just be another work day. Maybe drink a pumpkin spice beer after work.
I had a few good Halloweens in the past. Including one where I was dressed as Evil Spock and vomited at a house party.

You make me wonder now if I can find somewhere a place where they sell pumpkin drinks... I'd be curious to taste.

You vomited at a house during a party... Hmm... you were drunk?

[agent-FSS]

Well, yeah, I'm French.

Well, I'm Russian. Enchanté de faire votre connaissance.

Seems like orthodox Christians have a different notion of all these holidays (well, barely one of Halloween if I understand what you say...)

So you celebrate Christmas two weeks later...? May I ask if you have a specific tradition? ^^

Well, if to be more exact, of course, not all orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas after New year. In Russian Orthodox Church the calculation of church holidays perform on the Julian calendar. As a result of date of Christmas fall on January 7, not on December 25.

In the Soviet Union where days off on religious holidays were cancelled, the majority of Christmas customs passed to celebration of New year.

We have no special differences or traditions. In any case to me they aren't known. New year is celebrated at the same time with all other world December 31, at us it is the most important holiday in a year and a Christmas tree is decorated to it and give gifts too...

And there is as early an Old New year on January 14. Foreigners often don't understand that this concept means. Simply at us in Russia very much love holidays and celebrate else one New year on a Julian calendar.

[Big-Will]

Hmm, true Frenchman?

She's a true Frenchwoman, born in Algeria, if memory serves.

Well, if to be more exact, of course, not all orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas after New year. In Russian Orthodox Church the calculation of church holidays perform on the Julian calendar. As a result of date of Christmas fall on January 7, not on December 25.

The two dates for Christmas are far older than the Julian/Gregorian calendar divide.

Fun fact: Christmas was originally on January 6, but was moved to December 25 in the West to compete with, and eventually supplant, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. This was accomplished by the 4th century CE. (the West kept January 6 as the Feast of the Epiphany, the day the Wise Men finally found the Holy Family and delivered their gifts) Neither date could actually be the birthday of Jesus Christ, since no one noted the month and day on which he was born.

I see the dates in the East are now the same as in the West, but shifted by 13 days because of the Julian calendar.

Julian 12/25 = Gregorian 1/7
Julian 1/6 = Gregorian 1/19

[Samathou]

Well, I'm Russian. Enchanté de faire votre connaissance.

Enchanté également!

Well, if to be more exact, of course, not all orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas after New year. In Russian Orthodox Church the calculation of church holidays perform on the Julian calendar. As a result of date of Christmas fall on January 7, not on December 25.

In the Soviet Union where days off on religious holidays were cancelled, the majority of Christmas customs passed to celebration of New year.

We have no special differences or traditions. In any case to me they aren't known. New year is celebrated at the same time with all other world December 31, at us it is the most important holiday in a year and a Christmas tree is decorated to it and give gifts too...

And there is as early an Old New year on January 14. Foreigners often don't understand that this concept means. Simply at us in Russia very much love holidays and celebrate else one New year on a Julian calendar.

Indeed, some days aren't really the same as here... but well, I guess anyway we find different customs a bit everywhere in the world.

I didn't know Russia had deleted the national religious holidays though... wow, here we are still using some such as Chrismas, Easter, Epiphany...

She's a true Frenchwoman, born in Algeria, if memory serves.

Haha, wrong. I was born in France. That's my homeland. But I have some Alge blood though.

I can be a Frenchwoman or a Frenchman... guess I have lost the notion of "gender" on the Internet over the time... (seriously x)

[zzyzx 2]

Another haunted house I like to visit in the San Gabriel Valley is in old town Pasadena. They have been doing a haunted house since 2005. It's a lot of fun to go there.

http://www.oldtownhaunt.com

[Big-Will]

I didn't know Russia had deleted the national religious holidays though...

Well, banned them when it was the USSR, brought them back when the Soviets lost power.

[Samathou]

Ah right, the "Soviet Union" = URSS.
(it's no more the Stalinian state it used to be... now there is Putin!)

[agent-FSS]

I didn't know Russia had deleted the national religious holidays though... wow, here we are still using some such as Chrismas, Easter, Epiphany...

Wait, wait a moment. I spoke about the USSR, not about Russia, these are two big differences.
In the Soviet Union in people cultivated rationalism and atheism, for this reason and religious holidays didn't consider important. After 1991 all religious holidays began celebrate, for Christmas began to give one day off. In Russia, it seems about 5 years ago, established the whole 14 days off, beginning since December 31, therefore we rest longer all of you.

Easter not differs from European, we also paint eggs, but Easter bunny at us isn't mentioned. For us also give the day off. In the Epiphany we have a tradition to bathe in ice water, in special fonts or directly in an ice-hole on the rivers.

Our children instead of Halloween go from house to house begging candy at night before Christmas, it is tradition, though recently they begging cash...

She's a true Frenchwoman, born in Algeria, if memory serves.

Haha, wrong. I was born in France. That's my homeland. But I have some Alge blood though.

I can be a Frenchwoman or a Frenchman... guess I have lost the notion of "gender" on the Internet over the time... (seriously x)

If to live in the Internet such sometimes it happens . So, you Frenchwoman. Simply I got used that girls very seldom write on such resources.

[agent-FSS]

I see the dates in the East are now the same as in the West, but shifted by 13 days because of the Julian calendar.

Julian 12/25 = Gregorian 1/7
Julian 1/6 = Gregorian 1/19

You've, totally confused me, Big-Will. So we in Russia are celebrating by the Julian or Gregorian? I used to think that this was Gregorian, then I read the article on the internet where was called the Julian.

Hell, who to believe?